Cursed to Kill
by Shizumi Sasuke
Summary: The curse bid them to kill, to kill they must live, and to love they must first die (NejiHina, SasuSaku, a little bit Neji Tenten)no longer being updated
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Naruto, even though I'd like to, the only character that is mine is Taku, Sakura's older bro.

** Summary:** Neji and Sasuke sworn to kill Orochimaru, no one can stop them and they will stop at nothing until they get what they want. (NejiHina, SasuSaku, a little bit Neji Tenten)****

** Spoilers: **Episodes concerning the chuunin exam****

** Warnings: **This is extremely stupid, on top of that all, I wrote this in Taiwan while on vacation while I was really really really bored. Anyone who loves Rock Lee should not read this, this fic insults him quite a bit…contains some language and lemon later on.****

Cursed to kill- chapter 1

Neji stared off into space, this would be their last night here, to climb the hill and gaze at the setting sun as they did since they were kids. How could this day come so quickly? His arm was draped casually around Hinata's shoulder, "Tomorrow," he mused quietly, "The genin class will split into teams to continue the rest of their journey as chuunins and jounins. I don't think they'll allow two Hyugas on one team."

"Yes," Hinata nodded, "I know," she tried to smile, "Well, still, Neji-kun, before we do have to go…I want to say thanks."

"What for? You're always making a big deal of things." Neji asked.

 "Everything." She replied simply, "Thank you."

 "I don't need to hear it twice, Hinata." He responded roughly, trying his best not to look pleased and failing miserably, "It's only fair, you helped me before."

 That was the way it was with Neji, he seldom complimented anyone on anything, and if he did, he would hide it in a mask of sarcasm or insults. Either way, it didn't fool Hinata, she knew her second cousin too well for that, "Okay."

He didn't seem to have anything to say to that, so he kept silent. Until the sun had gone below the horizon, he sighed,  "I think we better go now, your father will worry."

"All right."

As soon as they reached the bottom of the hill, to the crossroad where one went east and the other west, they stopped. Neji turned, "Um, Hinata…I…I'll miss you, and the next time we meet, you'll be stronger, okay?"

"Okay, Neji-kun, I'll miss you too." Hinata said, "I'll train hard." Neji leaned in and kissed Hinata's forehead was gone.

Neji slammed the door to announce his arrival. "I'm home, Mother."

 "Shh," his mother came to greet him, putting a finger to her lips, signaling for quiet, "It's late, everyone else is already asleep." She eyed oldest son warily, "Where have you been?"

"Out…" on a impulse, he decided to lie, "Training with Uchiha. I forgot the time."

"It's good to see that you are growing stronger, in a few years, you might be able to overthrow the Souke." She approved, "Tomorrow, you'll be leaving?"

 "Err, yeah." Neji was actually only listening with half an ear, while considering his mother's words about the Souke. Would he really be able to overthrow them? There were plenty of other cousins who were geniuses like him besides Hinata; besides, did he really want to overthrow them? "I'll go to bed now."

The real reason behind his lie was that his mother didn't know he was associating with his second cousin Hinata, in fact, no one knew about their nightly visits to the hill…

 Neji was only six when he first knew that Hinata existed, of course he had been a child then, and he was carefree of worries like any child, he did not know that Hinata was his lifetime rival. She had claimed the hill first, than had graciously invited him to join her.

But over time, as the two of them grew older, a wall developed between them, for Neji's mother had strongly disapproved of him hanging out with those from the Main House. Whereas, Hinata had been given the same lecture by her father. But they had still both deliberately disobeyed.

"Son, are you all right?"

His mother's voice brought him back to his senses, "Yeah, why?"

"You look unwell, don't you feel alright?" she asked worriedly.

"Fine, just fine." Neji dismissed the concern with a careless wave of his hand, "Don't worry about me."

 "Every time you say that I can't help but do so." She gave him a stern look, "You're 14, what is a mother suppose to do?"

"I'm the family genius, Ma," Neji gingerly placed a kiss on his mother's cheek, "Good night."

            Hinata crept into the house, in hopes of not disturbing anyone. Closing the door of her room behind her, she heaved a sigh of relief. Tonight would be the last night here; tomorrow she would take leave of here, and…who knows? Perhaps never to come back again.

  Hinata touched her forehead where Neji's lips had grazed, it was strange, even though they had watched the sunset for so many years together, he had always been cold, and sometimes even cruel to her.

  So why…

            Uchiha Sasuke hurled another shuriken at the target; it hit three inches below the bull's eye.  He stared at his hands, which were now scraped with scars and bruises, they stung. "Damn."

  "Sasuke." A voice called his name.

  "What do you want?" he snapped without turning.

  "It's late, don't you think you should get some sleep?"

 Sasuke whirled around and saw the speaker, when he saw who it was, he dropped to his knees, "Hokage-sama."

 The old man smiled, "You have worked very hard today, I've been watching you, but now, get some sleep, I'd think that would be the best, you don't want to miss the ceremony tomorrow."

 "Yes, sir." Sasuke nodded, he collected his weapons, which were scattered all throughout the training field and jogged home.

The little pathetic shack that he called home was messy as always, he didn't bother to clean it, there was no need. He had lived this way ever since he was eight and his bastard brother Itachi killed off the entire Uchiha clan.

  Of course Sasuke didn't know how he had grown four inches over that summer, since he didn't care about nutrition. But still, he never went hungry, the girls would always bring him food.

 And tomorrow…he would kick ass.

"Sakura," someone turned on the lantern, bathing the porch in a murky light. "What are you doing out here?"

 She turned and saw her older brother, Taku, who was a jounin and a village guard. "Can't sleep, Taku-niisan."

 "Bet you're excited about being divided into teams tomorrow, eh?" Taku sat down next to her, "I remember when I was a genin, I was so nervous that I threw up in front of everybody of the academy."

"Really?" Sakura was surprised that her twenty-year-old brother could do something so stupid.

"Yep, everything came out crackers, milk, apples…"

 "Disgusting."

"It's true though." He looked at her intently, "Don't worry about it, you'll do just fine, and hey, maybe you'll even end up with Uchiha."

 Sakura blushed furiously, "Shut up."

 "Hey, it just might be though, 'cause every team has a strong, medium, and a girl." Her brother slapped her playfully.

"The weak." She finished dully, "The girl's the weak."

"That's not always the case." Taku said quickly, "The academy this year has a lot of strong beginners, Uchiha, Hyuga Neji, to name a few, if you get lucky, you'll get one of those two."

"They're the top two, and they both have a lot of girls chasing them. But they never do anything about it."

"Oh, the ' I'm way too cool for you' kinda guys" Taku answered knowingly, "There's always some people like that somewhere." Patting her back comfortingly he added, "You should sleep now, before Mom or Dad find you."

The next morning, the entire genin class stood out in the courtyard of the Ninja Academy, waiting. There was a tense silence that hung like a dark cloud in the midst of the students. Hinata stood sandwiched between Ino and Sakura, who were both staring at Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke was the only surviving member of the legendary Uchihas, one of the most powerful clans in Kanoha. They were the main rival of the Hyuga clan. Despite that, Neji and Sasuke were friends, perhaps it was because they were at the top of the class and were always sparring together, for the other students in the class didn't give them enough practice. Hinata didn't know why Ino and Sakura liked him.

Neji stood next to Uchiha, with a thoughtful expression on his face, staring at the five sensei. He did not wave to her or give any sign of recognition, he would not admit that he knew her in public, since she was from the Main House, and he from the lesser Branch House, it would be a disgrace for both of them.

 The first sensei, the one with a head shaped like a mushroom stepped forward, "Tenten, Rock Lee, and Hyuga Neji, come here."

 Neji brushed by Hinata and gave her arm a light squeeze.

 "Good bye, Neji-kun." She whispered.

"Hinata, did you say something?" Sakura said, snapping out of her trancelike state. 

"N-no, nothing." Hinata said quickly.

  Next to come was the sensei wearing a bandana and carrying a book, he was covering the title, but, Hinata could clearly make out the word 'Paradise' "Umuzaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke."

"Yay!" cheered Sakura, " I'm with Sasuke-kun."

 Ino rolled her eyes.

Then the only female sensei, "Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata…"

Hinata did not hear the rest, she walked with leaden feet towards the front..

Neji stood aside, watching his second cousin without much emotion, he was just numb for no particular reason. He had tuned out on Gai-sensei's lecture on Teamwork, courage and some other shit that was otherwise useless.

"Neji? Neji!" Tenten slapped him, "Sensei just asked you a question."

"Pardon?" He asked

"What is the value of teamwork?" Gai repeated.

"Do I look like I give a damn?" Neji was pissed, "Teamwork is just another word for weaklings that can't defend themselves."

"You are very conceited, aren't you?" Gai fixed the young Hyuga with a unwavering gaze.

"So what if I am?" Neji sneered back, "It doesn't matter.

Gai crossed his arms, he could see that this boy was going to be difficult. "How old are you?"

"14, in other words, old enough to beat the crap out of assholes." He replied.

"You're off to a late start." Rock Lee smirked.

"Say that again?" Neji's hand shot out and grabbed the back of Lee's neck.

"He's hurting me, sensei!" Lee whined.

"Neji, stop it now!" Gai commanded, jerking him off of Lee and threw him against a tree.

"Damn you." A trickle of blood appeared on the side of Neji's neck, he got woozily to his feet and rushed Gai again, only to crash into another tree. "Goddammit."

"Neji, may I remind you that you are still but a genin. Therefore, you have a lot to learn." Gai said sternly. "You still have a long way to go."

Lee decided that, since he had Gai protecting him, it might be a good time as any to throw in a few insults: "You must think you're some kind of god, Hyuga Neji, but in truth you are nothing!"

"You…" Neji could hardly wait to get his hands on the twerp and teach him a lesson or two, "You are just pathetic, hiding behind the sensei, always expecting him to protect you, fight me then…if you are really all that yourself—"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" roared Gai, "Both of you! Now, Neji, apologize!"

"That bitch doesn't deserve an apology." Neji retorted.

"Neji…"

"Fine, but its not I mean it."

"My name is Kurenai-sensei." Said their new teacher. "Now, I would like you three to introduced yourselves and say something interesting about you."

"I'm Shino." The boy with the sunglasses held up a hand, "I like to collect bugs, and I'm 14."

"I'm Kiba, this is my dog, Akamaru, I'm 13, he's 3, and we both like to eat beef jerky."

Hinata felt all the eyes turn to her. "Um, I'm Hinata…I'm from the Hyuga Main House…I'm, uh, never mind."

Kurenai nodded, "Very nice to meet you all, now go say good-bye to your friends and let us began our journey together."

Naruto approached her, "Hiya, Hinata –chan, train hard, eat ramen, always, 'kay?"

Hinata felt the familiar blush creep up her cheeks, "You too, Naruto-kun."

"Shake on it?" Naruto grinned, "A friend?"

 "Yeah." They shook hands.

"Hinata!" Sakura came running up to her, "I can't believe it! I'm with Sasuke-kun!"

"Good for you." Hinata hugged her friend.

Then she saw him, Neji was standing apart from the others, and there was blood on his the side of his neck.

 "Neji-kun?" she called his name softly as she put a hand on his shoulder, "Why are you bleeding?"

"None of your concern." Neji responded roughly, "Go away."

 "At least wipe it off." When he did not take the handkerchief she offered, Hinata touched his neck and proceeded to wipe the blood away.

Neji was shocked, he had never known Hinata possessed such gentleness. As the blood disappeared, the pain went as well. He leaned forward and kissed her, this time on the lips. Before he completely lost himself, he shrugged her arms off of him and said, rather harshly, "Watch yourself, cousin, stay alive, I want there to be a next time for us, and that is hopefully not your funeral."


	2. chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto…don't own Naruto, don't own Naruto…is that enough?

Notes: I don't know if anyone actually bothers to read this…

Cursed to kill- chapter two

            Hinata took one last look at Kanoha, at Hyuga Neji, and reluctantly followed Shino and Kiba into the forest.

 "Since its already kind of late, why don't you three set up camp, I'll be right back." Kurenai ordered and walked off.

  There was a tense silence after Kurenai's departure, at last, Shino got to his feet, "I'll scout out the area and bring back some wood while I'm at it, you two stay here."

 "Don't be gone too long." Kiba said.

"Fine, whatever." Shino shrugged and sauntered off, leaving a trail of ants behind him. "Don't step on the ants, they're there for your protection." He called over his shoulder, "They're fire ants. Just in case, y'know?"

            "Since you're divided into teams today, I would like to hear your goals for the future." Said Gai, finally attempting to act like a teacher.

 "Don't care, even if I did have goals, I wouldn't tell you." Neji sighed loudly.

 "Like anyone actually cares about your stupid goals." Muttered Lee, and as soon as those words left his mouth, he swerved to avoid contact with Neji's fist.

 "Neji…" said Gai warningly.

 "Whatever."

 "I want to be the first legendary female sanin." Tenten volunteered, raising her hand shyly.

 "Even though I can't use Ninjutsus or Ginjutsus, I'll still be a great Taijutsu ninja!" Lee declared passionately, "That's everything to me!"

 "Yeah, and the day you succeed will be the day that pigs fly and I grow fat." Neji scoffed, "Give up, you're truly hopeless."

 "Neji! Enough from you." Gai leaped to Lee's defense as always, "As I said, you are only a genin, to become a jounin, you still have a long way to go, so I suggest you humble yourself."

 "As for you, Gai-sensei." Neji spat out in utter distaste, "What good is it that you are a biased jounin? Anyone could see that you favor Crybaby Lee, here."

 "That will be quite enough from you." Gai repeated, his face now a deep shade of crimson. "Go gather wood!"

 "Gladly." Neji got to his feet, "At least I don't have you asses getting on my back." He now directed his gaze to Tenten, as if noticing her for the first time, he added, "You're

okay."

 "What's with that nut anyway?" asked Lee, dumbfounded, after making sure that the topic of the discussion was well out of earshot.

 "Dunno," Tenten shrugged, "he seems to be the anti-social type, if you ask me. But you shouldn't be so hard on the insults, he's got a short nerve."

 "Maybe." Gai agreed, "But she's right, lay off the comments, Lee, you'll piss him off even more, he's vexed enough as it is." He slumped down on a rock, "But still, Neji has a lot of potential, he is of the Hyuga clan, and is the first-born of the Branch House, at that, if he receives the proper training, that boy can become invincible."

 "Invincible?" Tenten felt faint, "that's not very comforting. Knowing Neji, he would probably abuse his power."

 Lee's tone offered nothing but disappointment, although he kept his face cleared of expression.

 "But then again, if anyone trains hard, they could become invincible." Gai corrected himself quickly. "Don't worry about it."

 _He does seem a little biased._ Tenten thought silently, watching Lee's face light up again_. It doesn't bother me at all though, I wonder why Neji minds so much?_

"Slow down, Kiba, or you're going to choke on that rib." Kurenai warned good-naturedly as Kiba wolfed down the meat in a doglike fashion, even Akamaru had some degree of manners.

  Shino had taken his meal aside and was eating it, as if not knowing he was actually eating it.

 Hinata watched her teammates, they all seemed so confident that they had a future, a future they could actually decide for themselves, in contrast to her, the destiny of being the Hyuga heir was already decided by birth even though she wished it were otherwise.

 "Hinata, is anything wrong?"

Kiba's voice cut through her thoughts, "Huh?" she looked down at the half-eaten chicken leg in her hands, "I'm fine, just not very hungry, Akamaru can have my share."

 Hearing his name, the dog barked and ran to her to collect his prize. Hinata managed a weak smile as she handed the drumstick to the dog.

 "But you have to eat something." Kurenai protested, "You can't focus on an empty stomach."

 "Don't worry about me, I ate a lot for lunch." Hinata lied quickly.

 They seemed to buy her excuse, "Okay then."

 Neji would've seen through her lie…

            "Can I go look for Neji?" Tenten asked, "He's been gone a while."

 "If you want to." Gai agreed hesitantly, "Be careful, though, and don't be gone too long, or else I'll have to send Lee after you."

 "Okay," she nodded, "I'll keep that in mind."

 "Actually, its not you I'm worried about, it's Neji, but oh well, make sure you come back whole."

 "Uh, sure."

            Neji was not the only one that decided that he needed a break from the unintelligent beings on his team. Uchiha Sasuke also decided to take some alone time, away from a sensei who was obsessed with porn, the parasite, and the ramen freak. Sometimes, he despised being normal.

 As Sasuke went around, randomly kicking trees, while cursing Itachi under his breath someone said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Uchiha, you can get hurt doing that."

 Sasuke whirled around to face Hyuga Neji, "Uh-huh, and what made you high and mighty all of the sudden?"

 "I'm not, I'm "normal." Neji said sarcastically.

 "So am I." Sasuke returned smugly, "Well, you go your way, I'll go mine, no one saw me."

 "Yeah, me neither." Neji smirked and walked away.

 He had no intention of returning to the campsite and facing Gai anytime soon, as he wandered off, he noticed that the sun had set long ago, but with his Byakugan, it didn't matter.

 "This day sucks." Neji muttered out loud, and that was an understatement, how come he had to be on a team with a guy (Lee) with no talent whatsoever, and a girl (Tenten) someone who was born weak, and worst of all a sensei that was uninformed of the latest fashions and other shit? How the hell was he supposed to receive decent training?

 Only kissing Hinata had made the day seem worthwhile…"Shit. I can't think about this now."

 "Think about what?" a voice asked behind him.

 "Nothing." He replied without turning, "Did Gai send you after me, Tenten?"

 Tenten came up beside him, "No, I just came by myself, I thought something happened to you."

 "Girls worry too much." He smirked, "I mean, what the hell? I'm a Hyuga."

 "But—"

 "I see, even you are taking their side, huh?"

 "No, its just, girls worry because they actually sensitive enough to."

 "I don't need you to lecture me on sensitivity." Neji turned at last to face her, "I can tell you hate me anyway. Leave if you don't want to be here."

 "No, its not that, Neji, it's not that, they don't like you because they're allowed to like you. You shut them all out."  She told him.

 "Your eyes say otherwise," Neji studied her carefully, "You are afraid I might rebuke you, because you vex me, Tenten. The way you rub your hands suggests that you are afraid of me. You are afraid I might be angered by your outburst. Isn't that right?"

 "But—" she was horrified at his eyes, the way the veins popped out, "What are you doing?"

 "So much to learn." His eyes turned back to normal, "You can go and tell Lee and Gai that I'm not coming back."

 "What? You can't do that."

 "Just for tonight, they can come collect me in the morning." He lay down on the grass, a kunai in one hand.

 "Where the hell are they?" complained Lee.

 "They'll show, sooner or later." Gai yawned.

 "Sensei you don't think…you don't think he'll rape her or something like that?"

 "Err, I don't see Neji as the type who would do something like that." Gai suddenly became a lot more awake than before, "Tenten said she'd mark her trail, let's go, just in case."

 Lee sprang up, "Yeah, all right!"

 "Don't get too excited now." Gai smiled as he watched his student race away into the trees.

 "They'll kill me, you gotta come back." Tenten protested. "Please?"

 "You're welcome to stay too, y'know." Neji sighed, "What if they snore?"

 "Neji, I don't get you, why do you care so much about what they think?"

 "I don't." he absently hurled the kunai at a nearby tree, "Who gives a damn what they think? You're nosy."

 "I'm just trying to help." She said defensively, "That's what teammates do."

 "Don't give me shit about that. I've heard enough."

 "Well, well, well." A new voice said, "Just what are you two youngsters doing out here, hm?"

 They both turned, there was an old man facing them, leaning on a cane. There were boils all over his skin. "I'm just trying to find my way around, could use some help though." He took a step closer toward them.

 "Just who are you, geezer?" Neji eyed the stranger warily, "Don't mess with me, I just happened to be Hyuga Neji, a ninja."

 "A ninja, eh?" the old man looked mildly amused, "You look a bit young to be a shinobi." He added, much more quietly to himself, "A Hyuga, that could prove interesting…"

 "Neji!" Tenten scolded, "Don't be rude."

 "He's not what he seems, don't trust him." Neji breathed into her ear. "He may seem like

a harmless old guy, but, there's something I sense about him…" his voice trailed off. "Go, now, get help!"

 "Not so fast…" The old man, to their surprise and horror, tore off his mask to reveal a much more disgusting face, the skin was a ghastly pale color and stretched across his skull like rubber "We haven't begun yet, little ones." He licked his lips with a snakelike tongue. "Isn't this going to be fun…"

 Tenten fought the urge to scream. Neji's arm was still grabbing hers.

 "Oh, Holy shit!" Neji too, was rooted to the spot, "What are you?"

  "A shinobi, just like you are." The Enemy shrugged, "Although I'll bet I'm the stronger of the two."

 "Wouldn't really count on that." Neji sent a barrage of kunai at him. "What are you waiting for?" he screamed at Tenten, though she was next to him, she was paralyzed and speechless with fear, "Go! Get help!"

 " Neji? But you—"

 "No time for buts, goddammit." Neji barely saw the Enemy coming at him, suddenly, without any warning he was pinned against a tree.

 "You talk too much." The Enemy had a deathgrip on Neji's throat.

 "Do I, now?" Neji was seriously pissed off by now, "Think again, jackass." Concentrating all the chakra he could focus, he sent a punch on the Enemy's abdomen, "Byakugan! Take that!"

 "Neji!" Tenten yelled. "Be careful."

 "Didn't I tell you to get moving?" he glared down at her, "Go! I'll be fine—" he was abruptly cut off when he saw the Enemy getting back on his feet, "That hit was fatal!"

 "Yes, yes." The man brushed himself off, "But Neji-kun, didn't I tell you that I was the stronger of the two?"

 "I must be deaf." Neji struggled to regain his composure.

 "Tsk, tsk." The Enemy clicked his tongue, "You bore me, but perhaps my friend here would have better uses for you." He whistled three times, "Come darling Kazuyuki, I found you a playmate."

  A warm drop of blood diverted Neji's attention upwards, "Holy shit!" 

 It was a cobra, staring down at him, rearing to strike.

 Tenten screamed.


	3. chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, I'm really tired of repeating this…geez. Oh, and just for reference, I do own one thing in this chapter, its Neji's guardian, Akira.

Notes: Thanx for all the reviews, I thought nobody'll read this, um, now that you think of it, Tenten does seem a bit useless…don't worry though, she's gonna come in later. Oh, one more thing, I made Sasuke somewhat cocky…not that much.

            "Lee, Gai-sensei!"

 Gai turned from his game of poker, "Hey, you're—" he cut off abruptly when he saw that her hair was disheveled, and one of her arms had been scratched badly, leaving bloody snaking scars. She was breathing hard as she sank to her knees.

 Lee was instantly at her side, "What's wrong? Did Neji do this to you?" he asked worriedly, "What happened?"

 "Neji's…Neji's…" she gasped, clutching Lee's arm for support, "…he's…"

 "Calm down, Tenten." Gai said, getting up, even though he was now also seriously alarmed as well, "Tell us slowly, take your time."

 "He's…" Tenten gasped again, " In trouble…he's fighting this snake guy, the guy has a cobra…Neji told me…not to worry…to get you guys and get help…he's hurt…"

 "Cobra?" Gai repeated, looking dazed, "Did I hear you right?"

 She nodded,  "He…he…Neji might be dead…all my fault…" tears flowed from her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to prevent them from falling, "He told me to get away…I was

helpless…I couldn't help him…"

 Gai had heard enough, "Get yourself together, we're going to find him."

 Neji and the cobra continued the stareoff tensely. Without warning, the cobra lunged at him, and succeeded in sinking one of its fangs into his leg.

 He crumpled onto the ground, still shaking in fear, "Fuck." Neji's face turned white from the white-hot pain that cursed through his veins, "Akira…"

(Flashback)

            _"You turned seven today," said his father, "I haven't given you my present yet."_

_ "But you already gave me a present, that little shuriken, I like it." Neji fingered his new weapon excitedly _

_ "That was Mommy's present, remember?" Hizashi looked mildly amused, "I am going to give _

_you a guardian."_

_ "A guardian?" Neji felt indignant, "I can protect myself just fine!"_

_ "I know you can, my son. But at times, you need a friend to help you, your guardian will be _

_that friend." His father explained patiently, "It will help you become stronger, help you to defeat strong enemies, even though I am strong, I have one too, every Hyuga has one."_

_ "You have one too? Cool!" Neji's eyes lit up, "How do you get one?"_

_ "You think very, very hard on your favorite animal and ask it nicely to help you and play with you, if it is in a good mood."_

_ Neji spent the rest of that day meditating, not a very easy thing for a seven-year old boy to do. Thinking hard about his favorite animal, the dragon. But the dragon did not come that day._

_ "Father, how come my guardian didn't come?" Neji had asked the next day._

_ "Hm, I don't know," Hizashi looked thoughtful, "Maybe because you have to ask it nicer."_

_ So once again, Neji went out and sat on his favorite rock, meditating even harder than the day before. It did not come._

_It did not come the next day, nor the next, nor the next…Neji was growing very impatient._

_ "What's that?" his father interrupted his train of thoughts, "Look, Neji! Your guardian is here!"_

_ Neji was very disappointed; it was a silver eagle that perched on his shoulder, "Bawk!"_

_ "But I wanted a dragon!" he whined, "How come this bird came?"_

(End flashback)

 "Akira…please…come to me…" Neji lay there in a bloody heap, praying silently.

 Swiftly, the huge fowl swooped down with a fierce cry, pecking the snake in the eye. It gave Neji a pointed look as it flew past.

 "Interesting…" The Enemy now appeared in front of him, "You didn't tell me you kept a little pet as well, Neji-kun."

 Neji groaned, "You…"

 "Heh, how foolish of me, blabbering all this time and not even bothering to introduce myself." He laughed, "I wish you to remember my name…Orochimaru."

 "I happen to have a short term memory." Neji snapped, wondering how long it would take for Gai and Lee to come to his rescue, as bad as it was, he actually admitted that he needed rescuing.

 "Hey! Hyuga!" a new voice called out, "Never take on an enemy alone, got that?" the speaker was someone he knew well.

 "I know that voice." Neji looked up, "Uchiha Sasuke."

 "Can you get up?" Sasuke asked, "Or is it my turn to take on this guy?"

 "Don't come down here." Neji protested weakly, "This guy rivals hokage. Don't be an ass and get yourself killed."

 "Put this on, bastard and quit whining, get up. Stand your ground like a true ninja or you'll end up like I did." Sasuke tossed him a roll of bandages. "Are you a coward? Get up!"

 "Huh, just the insult I needed." Neji smirked, "As you wish."

 "Interesting… Uchiha Sasuke, eh? Indeed." Orochimaru grinned, "This is a fun day for me…"

 "You…" Sasuke now directed his gaze to Orochimaru, "are so fucking gonna die."

            "Tenten," Lee complained, they had been running for a long time, and even he was getting tired, "How far do we have to go?"

 "I don't know, I was just wandering around randomly until I found him, so the marks are pretty much circling around…" Tenten's voice trailed off.

 "We don't have time for this." Gai sighed, "Neji might be dead for all we know…"

  Lee slumped down on the grass, "Then I say we just screw this damn search and go back."

 "I can't believe you two!" Tenten exploded, "All that talk about teamwork was just SHIT! Wasn't it? I don't know what's up with you, but Neji's our teammate, whether you like it or not…it's not fair!"

 "Whoever said the world was fair?" Lee glared at her, "Is it fair that I can't use Ninjutsu? Of course not. What the hell? If anything, I'd say you are madly in love with Neji or something."

 "Damn you." She spat, "Just because he's stronger than you doesn't mean you have to get all pissed." Tears welled up in her eyes again, "It's all my fault, Neji's not all that cracked up to be, I couldn't help him! Don't you realize how helpless it made me feel, Lee?"

 Lee instantly put a comforting arm around her, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you were…"

 "It's just…" Tenten put her head on his shoulder and sobbed, "All my fault, I'm the one that should be sorry…"

 "Err, maybe you should go ahead, Gai-sensei." Lee suggested awkwardly after a moment, "I'll stay here with her."

 "Good idea." Gai agreed, "Be back in a minute." He sprinted off.

           "Uchiha, you wanna commit suicide or something?" Neji hissed, as Sasuke landed beside him. "You're crazy!"

 "I'm no crazier than you, Hyuga." Sasuke scoffed, "You fought him first."

 "Well, fine." Neji sighed, limping to his feet, "This is nuts."

 "I don't want to hear you say that." Sasuke gritted his teeth, "Aren't you the one that wanted to pick a fight?"

 "There wasn't anything else I could do." Neji exhaled heavily, "I mean, I couldn't just go up there and go, 'Hey, ol' buddy who wants to kill me, wanna be friends'? Hell, no. I think not."

 " I didn't ask you to do that," Sasuke smirked, "That sounds like Naruto. If you said that, it'd be freaky."

 "I'll take that as a compliment," Neji scowled, "Now, let us screw that fucking bitch."

 "My thoughts exactly…"

 Orochimaru yawned, "You two are very boring conversationalists." He stretched lazily, "Are you done now?"

 "Oh, yeah?" Neji shot back, "old man, welcome to the last hour of your life." At least now he had an ally. Sasuke could protect himself just fine; after all, he had the Sharingan on his side. "Behind." He mouthed to Sasuke, who nodded and lunged at Orochimaru.

 "Fire Element: Grand Fire Flower!" Sasuke cried, and nearly scorched himself in process,

"Hyuga!"

 "Byukagan!" Neji appeared out of nowhere and seized the Enemy, wrestling him down on the

grass, "Gotcha!"

 "Kawamiri!" where Orochimaru had been seconds before was now nothing more than a mere bag of concrete.

 "Damn!" Neji swore.

 Akira, the eagle was still battling the cobra, which had been successfully blinded, but that was just the beginning, since the giant serpents also had a strong sense of smell. It now pounced on Neji, whose leg would not support him through so much excitement.

  Sasuke now watched in horror as the snake swoop down and prepared to devour his comrade. "Kage Bushin no jutsu!" _Stupid Naruo, … _"You bastard snake!"

 After an intense, but thankfully short struggle, the cobra fell down on top of Sasuke, blood pouring like hell out of his fangs.

 "Good." Orochimaru approved, "At least you show some signs of the noble blood in you…I must say, the blood runs thin in you and your brother."

 "My brother…" Sasuke looked up.

 "Yes, your brother, Itachi, he was even more pathetic than you, didn't even put up a fight when I got through with him."

 "You killed him…you fucking shithole!" the young Uchiha strained to free himself.

 "Yes, I did," Orochimaru answered calmly, "I thought you didn't need the trouble." Walking over to the unconscious Neji, and placed three fingers that glowed a faint purple on his neck,

"I'll spare you this time. Sasuke-kun, be grateful, for next time it will be your turn. Neji-kun did well and was worthy enough of the curse." He paused, "He will become a great killer just like I am, and he will seek me to gain even more power, and I shall help him get the revenge he's always wanted…" he walked off.

  Sasuke, who was nauseated from the stench of the blood, fainted and gave in to the darkness_. I'm an avenger, Orochimaru…I will kill you before you kill me. _He promised silently.


End file.
